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Killer of train passengers gets 11 life sentences - 8/20/2008 7:20:54 PM
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humbleinspirit
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Joined: 4/13/2005
From: Just Outside of Boston
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LOS ANGELES - A man convicted of causing a deadly commuter rail crash that he blamed on an attempt to commit suicide was sentenced Wednesday to 11 consecutive life terms by a judge who denounced him as a remorseless killer.
Superior Court Judge William Pounders said he would have imposed a sentence of "forever" on Juan Alvarez, if it were possible. Alvarez will not be eligible for parole.
Alvarez parked his gasoline-soaked SUV on railroad tracks in suburban Glendale, where it was struck by a Metrolink train that derailed and struck another Metrolink train traveling in the other direction on Jan. 26, 2005. Eleven people were killed and about 180 were injured.
The defense maintained Alvarez had changed his mind at the last minute about trying to commit suicide on the tracks but couldn't move the SUV before it was struck.
Many of the victims' survivors came forward to speak through tears about their lost relatives and the way the crash had changed their lives.
Some demanded that Alvarez turn and look them in the eye as they told him of the havoc he had wrought on their lives.
"Please look at me so you can understand," said Elaine Sievers, sister of one of the victims. "You did a very bad and stupid thing."
Alvarez obliged some of the speakers. In some cases, he shook his head when they asked him for responses.
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RE: Killer of train passengers gets 11 life sentences - 8/21/2008 2:17:30 AM
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aslouie
Posts: 629
Joined: 5/15/2005
From: Los Angeles, CA.
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I remembered this incident a year or two ago, when I was waiting in vain for a certain bus # (at the opposite end of that route's destination/bus stop) that just so happens to be the same route that passes to and fro near that Metrolink scene. I don't know how to respond to this recent court decision, other than perhaps praying/hoping Alvarez can seriously rethink what consequences he had committed, before he faces The Judgment Throne... 
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RE: Killer of train passengers gets 11 life sentences - 8/21/2008 6:04:39 PM
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mapachito13
Posts: 2498
Joined: 10/1/2007
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That guy got what he deserved I am glad though the jurors were wise enough not to give him the death penalty. I guess God only knows whether he "tried to get the truck off the tracks" or "he was trying to create something spectacular to get his estranged wife's attention".
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"I would argue that the most serious threat to the United States is not someone hiding in a cave in Pakistan or Afghanistan, but our own fiscal irresponsibility."-David Walker, fmr comptroller general of the US
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RE: Killer of train passengers gets 11 life sentences - 8/21/2008 7:44:14 PM
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Dubya
Posts: 1033
Joined: 10/25/2006
From: Texas
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quote:
ORIGINAL: humbleinspirit
LOS ANGELES - A man convicted of causing a deadly commuter rail crash that he blamed on an attempt to commit suicide was sentenced Wednesday to 11 consecutive life terms by a judge who denounced him as a remorseless killer.
Superior Court Judge William Pounders said he would have imposed a sentence of "forever" on Juan Alvarez, if it were possible. Alvarez will not be eligible for parole.
Just a little legal question... I realize the sentence was life without parole, but I seem to recall several years ago when I lived in California, that in reality there is no such thing... in other words, eventually every life sentence comes before a parole board. Does anyone know if that is true?
One notable case is Charles Manson. He was sentenced to multiple death penalties AND multiple life sentences. Yet, after the Supreme Court overturned the death sentence and made the states re-write the death penalty legislation, Manson's death penalties were commuted. Now, he comes before a parole board every 7 years where the Tate family testifies and demands that he stay in prison.
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RE: Killer of train passengers gets 11 life sentences - 8/22/2008 6:10:31 PM
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mapachito13
Posts: 2498
Joined: 10/1/2007
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Dubya
quote:
ORIGINAL: humbleinspirit
LOS ANGELES - A man convicted of causing a deadly commuter rail crash that he blamed on an attempt to commit suicide was sentenced Wednesday to 11 consecutive life terms by a judge who denounced him as a remorseless killer.
Superior Court Judge William Pounders said he would have imposed a sentence of "forever" on Juan Alvarez, if it were possible. Alvarez will not be eligible for parole.
Just a little legal question... I realize the sentence was life without parole, but I seem to recall several years ago when I lived in California, that in reality there is no such thing... in other words, eventually every life sentence comes before a parole board. Does anyone know if that is true?
One notable case is Charles Manson. He was sentenced to multiple death penalties AND multiple life sentences. Yet, after the Supreme Court overturned the death sentence and made the states re-write the death penalty legislation, Manson's death penalties were commuted. Now, he comes before a parole board every 7 years where the Tate family testifies and demands that he stay in prison.
And there he will stay until he dies. His next hearing is in 2012, the year the Mayan long count ends. What if he gets released that same year?  
The Rose Bird Supreme Court did some silliness but I think that nowadays life without parole means exactly that.
_____________________________
Peace Sells....But Who's Buying!
"I would argue that the most serious threat to the United States is not someone hiding in a cave in Pakistan or Afghanistan, but our own fiscal irresponsibility."-David Walker, fmr comptroller general of the US
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RE: Killer of train passengers gets 11 life sentences - 8/23/2008 12:31:40 AM
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lightshineon
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It is so sad all the way around.
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Be sure you vote for those, whose views you want your children to emulate.
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